On November 24, 2018, the Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve was awarded the Green List certificate.

The ceremony took place in Egypt, during the CBD COP 14, at the Ras Mohammad protected area, in a tent especially set for the event. Dr. Yasmine Fuad, Egyptian Minister of Environment, Mr. Ibrahim Subhi Al-Shehadeh, Ms. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary, the WCPA Chair, Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Chair, Ms. Lara Samaha, Head of the Department of Ecosystems the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, and around 300 conservationists, attended

It was an intense moment, culminating long years of hard work that started with the creation of the Reserve in 1996. The President of the Committee, Mr. Charles Noujaim, after receiving the certificate, listed the three major lessons learned: governments in close cooperation with local authorities and communities can ensure effective management of Pas, giving the example of Lebanon; and that sustainable development goals can be implemented at the local level; and that protected areas can inspire people, businesses and decision makers to protect nature

The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas is the first global standard of best practice for area-based conservation. It is a global programme of certification for protected and conserved areas – national parks, natural World Heritage sites, community conserved areas, nature reserves and so on – that are effectively managed and fairly governed

The IUCN Green List Standard has four components. The first three are Good Governance; Sound Design and Planning; and Effective Management. They support the fourth component on Successful Conservation Outcomes, and attest to the successful achievement of the goals and objectives. Each component has a set of criteria (17 in total), and each criterion has a set of indicators (50 in total) to measure achievement

A Green List site is one that has been evaluated to achieve all criteria, across all four components

The Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve was voted on October 27, 2018

Green Listed: Ajloun and Azrak from Jordan, Al Wathba from Abu Dhabi, Ras Mohammad and Al Hitan from Egypt, in addition to Protected Areas from France, Mexico, Peru and Kenya

The Process: The site submits an online application on an online portal (COMPASS), attesting to meeting the 50 indicators, adding the relevant supporting documents. A group of regional experts (EAGL), appointed by IUCN, is in charge of evaluating the application, starting with a desk review, followed by a site visit of at least two EAGL’s. Based on the online application and site visit report, the EAGL votes and submits the file to the international Green List Committee which awards, or not, the certification. The whole process is under the supervision of external observers who submit a report to the committee